when to go??...halloween or thanksgiving?

[rieckhoff66]

We are planning our 2nd trip to WDW and are wondering which time would be better. We could go over Halloween weekend or do the Fri. before Thanksgiving. Halloween would be great because of Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party but we could stay more days over the Thanksgiving week.
What is the difference in weather?? (having it warm enough to swim is a must for our boys.)

Also how do the crowds compare between those Holidays? I had heard from a friend who went at Halloween last year that the parks were crowded only during the evening at the Halloween party.

Any good hotel discounts out there for any one of those dates? We want to stay on the disney grounds.

Any thoughts are appreciated-- We're jumping out of our skin with excitment just thinking about our next visit!!!!

 

[TerriBelle]

We were at Disney last year from the Friday before THanksgiving until the Friday after. It was a great trip. The year before we went Mid-October. Each year is different but our experience was:

1) Weather - The kids swam during both trips. The pools are all heated so they jumped right in. I believe that October was a little warmer but you might get more rain. For both trips we wore sweatshirts in the early morning and at night.

2) Crowds - Both trips the MK was more crowded than I expected. MNSSHP has become a big event so many people travel to WDW for that in October. We attended this event and noticed a lot of local people coming in for the weekend! There are quite a few dates for this so expect more people during these dates. We avoided ALL parks on Thanksgiving. I thought the crowds were pretty much the same both trips - Busy at the MK and good at the other parks.

3) Extras - During October you can go to MNSSHP and over Thanksgiving you can see all the holiday decorations and the Osbournne Lights.

 

[tink2]

I've never been during Halloween, but have been two times during Thanksgiving and am going again this year! I'll share my experiences:
weather- Wonderful both trips. Shorts during the day and maybe a sweatshirt or jacket for early mornings and night. Pants for the little ones during these times. Both times, we only had one little sprinkle- lasted maybe 30 min.

crowds- very managable Mon-Wed of Thanksgiving week. Thanksgiving Day is very crowded at MK- but with the use of EE and FastPass, you can accomplish several things in the morning. By the afternoon, the place is packed. We scheduled a character lunch and our must-do rides in the morning. We took the afternoon easy- watched afternoon parade, castle show, Spectro and fireworks, and rode a few things with FastPass.
The Friday after Thanksgiving we go to other parks than MK and have found them very managable also. Not too bad in my opinion.

extras- This is why we love this time of year so much. The Christmas decorations are up in the resorts pretty much the whole week and a few in the parks. Thanksgiving morning MK is decorated to the hilt with Christmas music playing. Very neat to see MK regular and then with Christmas decorations in the same trip. The other parks are decorated by Thanksgiving Day too.

We, too, are able to stay longer during Thanksgiving and have traveled with my whole family twice during this time. We have had two wonderful trips and plan to have another one this year. We absolutely love this time of year.
In the future, I would love to go to MNSSHP and MVMCP, but right now our schedules just won't work. Good luck making your decision!

 

[travelitis]

We were there the Sat. before Thanksgiving until the Sat. after. We swam once, but the nights were certainly too cold. We thought the nights quite chilly, and even my in-laws from MN wore jackets and were surprised the evenings weren't warmer. During the day shorts or capris were comfortable. We thoroughly enjoyed going that time of year and loved the Osborne Lights. We'd like to try Halloween sometime as well. If you can go longer over Thanksgiving, I'd opt for that. If you do a fireworks cruise, which we did, bundle up. The blankets they had were not sufficient, and all of us were cold and hunting for hot chocolate afterwards.